Apple's Streaming Service to Launch in June, Reports Say

Digital Trends is reporting that Apple's new music streaming service, built around the Beats Music platform that Apple purchased last year, will launch in June and could carry a subscription price of $7.99/month. Reports also suggest that the new service will not include a free tier but will only be accessible through a paid subscription plan.

From Digital TrendsApple's new streaming service, a revamped version of Beats Music, will launch at WWDC, Apple's annual developer conference in June, according to 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman. There's a good chance you won't be able to access it for free, though.

As previously reported, the new service will be woven into the iTunes platform, remove the Beats branding but integrate Beats-style personalization including curated playlists, cloud-based libraries and other customized musical recommendations. The 9to5Mac report also confirms that the "service will be price as high as $7.99 per month."

Apple still has plans to offer the new streaming service across platforms including Android, which may have caused some of delay for the service's launch (which was supposed to take place in early 2015). The service will launch as part of an iOS 8.4 upgrade for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

According to a report from Re/code, there's talk that the streaming service may be only accessible behind a pay wall, ending the 'freemium' model that Spotify and others currently use. Execs from Apple Cue, Beat Music, Sony Music, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group have all expressed support of discouraging freemium streaming services, citing the difficulty of converting free users to paid ones.